Heather Gay: Doing It All To Having It All | GoDaddy School of Hustle with Angie K.

Hi, I'm Angie Kay and you may know me from the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. But long before that, I was an entrepreneur and a small business owner with big dreams. I've always been passionate about talking about business and learning and growing, talking to other entrepreneurs. I'm going to be having other entrepreneurs share their stories, and we're all going to learn and grow from each other. So stay tuned and watch it all on GoDaddy School of Hustle podcast. >> [music] >> My close friend and brilliant, beautiful business owner, Heather Gay is here. Thank you, my friend, for being here. >> Thank you for having me. This is so fun. I'm loving this. I love seeing School of Hustle with Angie K. >> Do I look professional? >> You are professional. You look gorgeous. You look like a housewife. You look like a hustler. And you look like someone that like knows all about it, you know, all about business. >> Well, I would say the same thing about you. And we both look like mothers. We're somehow managing to juggle it all. And Heather Heather is my youngest, oldest friend, >> which means she's one of my longest time friends. We've known each other since we were 15. And you know, there was this period where we really didn't see each other because you were starting a family, you were having children, and I was starting my business, and then we flip-flopped. And I didn't really get to see you starting your family, but I did get to see the early stages of your business. Yeah. >> And you're a hard worker. You have become an overnight success. >> It always seems like overnight, but as anyone that starts a business knows, it is not an overnight success. But it does seem fast. It does. It feels that way because you've been working so hard and I would love to hear how you started and what the beginning the beginning of those of those days dark early days. Well, I think that I love your introduction because like you are an entrepreneur with big dreams and I think that I always had big dreams and I always had an entrepreneur spirit. I started my first business in college even when I was a stay-at-home mom with like no outside job. I always had like a side hustle, you know, I would do photography, I would do social media. I just always wanted to be in business for myself and like generate income, you know, that was I was always very ambitious, but I didn't really have any examples of women that had started businesses and like done that around me in my community. But when I got divorced and found that I had, you know, to provide my own lifestyle and provide for my children and just kind of recreate my life, I knew that uh, you know, by building a business that would be the best way for me to do it. And so I was broke, depressed, [laughter] and just kind of like searching and started working and then found an opportunity to start this med spa. And I didn't think it would be I wasn't even sure what it was going to be. All I knew is that I saw an opportunity and I felt like if I got in the mix, I could make it better. It was a failing plastic surgery clinic and I started working for them by doing Instagram posts in trade for Botox from a plastic surgeon >> and his business was failing. He didn't wasn't running it well. He was a surgeon. He wasn't an entrepreneur and he started to rely on me heavily to do his social media posts in order to like generate customers for this new med spa he was starting. you know, he had a really healthy surgical practice, but no, you know, Botox, lip filler, facials, laser hair removal. He had no experience with that. But he thought he could just start this business and it would just be successful. And he hired me to do his Instagram post and I would get trade for Botox, trade for lip filler, trade for, you know, all of the aesthetics things that I could no longer afford because now I was a single mom with three kids on a, you know, very fixed income. So I started hustling for him and doing his Instagram and generating customers and like it was the customers were increasing and so he started to rely on me more and more to learn like what direction he should take his business in. And I started to see that like I was in his meetings and I was meeting with the advertising people, I was meeting with the marketing people and I was just a stay-at-home mom with a camera and an Instagram account, you know, and so the opportunity presented itself where he was going to move away and um he offered me to buy the business and take it over. >> Wow. Wow. And I wasn't a plastic surgeon, but I knew how to sell Botox and I knew how to sell lip filler because I'd been doing it for him for a year. And so I took my all of my divorce settlement money and I bought the practice and I just rolled the dice and hoped for the best. And >> that is to me such an inspiring story. You said two things that keep ringing in my ear. You said you were broke and depressed. [laughter] And I mean you have had such uh not only glow up physically but internally I just I've seen you become so confident, so successful. You are independent. You're strong. You've done so many incredible things personally and professionally and to know that you started in this small business and coming out of a depression or a hard time in your life and then you know having this home run and growing this business and becoming a household name building a brand a brand that you not only hear about in Salt Lake but outside of Salt Lake City. and you're a small business owner that services local community members, that services your neighborhood. You provide opportunity. I know you as a mother, but one thing that I feel that is your greatest gift. And all those years of mothering prepared you for is that you are a leader. And I believe that you build women up, you build your employees up, you're a leader in your business, you are a cheerleader, you motivate. And I think >> you sound like the cheerleader right now. I I mean I say this you are the cheerleader. >> I've experienced this from you and if I was working for Heather Gay, I would feel like the sky was the limit and that I could accomplish anything in your business that I could grow with your your company because you really root for women. You're not competitive. You want to see women soar. You want to see your employees succeed. And I think that's a lot of the years of of being a mother that prepared you for this. Yeah, you were coming out of a divorce, but all those skills, that skill set of of raising daughters and raising young women and uh you know, being part of the community just seems like it really set you up for success. >> Yeah, I think it teaches you to like look at things collaboratively and not competitively. But you know, it wasn't a home run out of the park at all. I mean, about six months into the business, I was in the red, starting out in the red, like thousands of dollars in debt before a single customer had even walked through the door. And I couldn't inject Botox. I had to hire professionals. I had to outsource everything. I was in over my head in terms of, you know, all of the specifications and all of the things. And I thought, "Oh my gosh, I've just made the worst decision of my life. this is now I'm going to be dead broke because I've spent all of my you settlement and this business is failing and I um made a foolish choice. So I'm going to you know be worse off than when I started. And I met and talked to a mentor my who is now my business partner and I said I've got to sell it off for parts. I've got to find people that'll buy the lasers. Like I want out. This is a failing business. There's too much overhead. There's too many restrictions. I can't do it. I'm a mom. So, I was doing this all juggling all these balls and she said, "I think that's a mistake. I think you have something here. I think you need to look at it again and she kind of was a mentor and like gave me a different perspective and said, you know, I have some experience with med spas and I'd love to help you." And that became my business partner, Dre. >> And so with her, >> within a year, we had renamed the business. We had restructured the business. We had eliminated what didn't work for us and we had started to build, you know, the beauty lab and laser that we wanted to go to as busy moms that didn't want to be shamed or harassed or overcharged for what was as necessary to us as brushing our teeth, which was our Botox. And it is >> and our facials, you know, it was just that >> ability to just pivot and make decisions and realize like even when it was darkest, like there were ways to turn it around. And then it's been really successful ever since then. We launched the mini lip plump I think in 2016 and we'll have our 10y year anniversary. >> Wow. >> And we trademarked it and now you know we license it to other med spas and we are we have two locations. We have 40 employees and it started out just two moms wanting to get their Botox done in less than 20 minutes. >> I know that I I I met your partner. you two are you have such a great partnership and to hear that she was a mentor to you and you were able to bring a partner on and make it work and then grow your brand from there. I think mentoring uh whether you are a mentor or you find a mentor is so important and I know that you are not you never feel like you're too big to ask for feedback or outside growth on what you you know outside opinions on how you can grow or grow your brand. >> But it's hard you know we're busy moms. We're all kind of caught up in our own lives and our own schedules. And if we have a business, our own business, I mean, it is a >> soul sucking 24/7 job. You know, I was the janitor. I was the front desk. I was the receptionist. I was the interior designer. We didn't borrow a single dollar. We bootstrapped it. You know, we did it all from the money we had. And you learn to like, you know, bring your kitchen chairs in if you have enough people that need them. you know, you you learn to >> get butts in seats, start building a clientele, and then go from there. But it's hard to find someone that's going to spend time with you and be like a a mentor on the daily. Like, I don't think any of us starting businesses at this stage in life are able to do an apprenticeship, you know, or be an intern. But I think that that we're mentors in different ways. And when I think about my very first business mentor, it was you. It was absolutely you. You were the only woman that I knew in my graduating class that had her own business that showed up with a Lamborghini at our 10 year anniversary >> and I rolled in in my minivan, you know, and I had big dreams, too, but I didn't have an example of anyone in my life that had really accomplished it, you know, and so I was trying to like, you know, have small dreams in my little small life. But when I saw you, I just you were my first example of someone that could like start where I had and really just redefine and reshape their entire life. And you know, I remember seeing you at that reunion and just being like, I love Lunatic Fringe. I love her brand. And then when I started my business, I you know, patterned a lot of what we did off of your brand. Our logo is very similar. Wow. >> Our aesthetic is very similar. And the way that you just built this business was always in the back of my mind and inspiring to me because you were the only woman I knew that had done it. >> Yeah. >> I had no compliment to me. And it's interesting that you say this because I went to the reunion and I was the only one that didn't have children. And you know, you're talking about balance in business. It's like family or business. And sometimes it's one or the other. And sometimes it's both. And it's hard to find that balance, right? So that is I'm I'm so flattered that you viewed me that way because you've done so much in such a short time and I think that is a great question is how have you balanced your three daughters that you're very involved with your motherhood and running your business and and not only running it but growing it and you have a second location you've expanded >> into a a household name. I mean, I think the important thing is that there is not balance, you know, and there's always a price you pay and it's either a sacrifice you're making at home or a sacrifice you're making at work or a sacrifice you're making personally. And I think for me, I was always at the bottom of the list. You know, I made sure my kids came before the business and then I made sure the business came before even my needs, you know, and that was really there's just a limited amount of real estate you can work with, you know, and so I think if you are a true entrepreneur, you can't even balance isn't in your vocabulary, you know. It's all or nothing. >> I needed that reminder, too. Thank you. That's so true. >> You know, it is. And I approach everything all or nothing. And I think you kind of do too. And that's what makes us drawn to each other >> and drawn to the careers we've chosen. >> Yes. Absolutely. We're we're in similar industries in every aspect of our liv. >> Every aspect of our lives. Yeah. >> Raising daughters, beauty industry, reality, TV. >> Yeah. All of it. >> It is a rush, I think. And and I think we both love, like you said, we both love being busy. And to hear that you were doing social media for your company before you bought it. I feel like Beauty Labs social media is so great. You've interjected humor. You I mean it's fun. It's uh it's relevant. It's progressive. >> I like I love the posts that you make and I feel like they're just they're they're they really target a certain audience, but also uh they're they're funny and I think anyone of any age would would really relate. >> I think that's true for entrepreneurs. your business should be an extension of what you love and what the business you would want to go to and what represents you. And like I really felt like I built the business I wanted to go to. I wanted to be able to do carpool and not hire a babysitter and rearrange my whole schedule to just get Botox. I just wanted to like fit it in to my daily life and have it not be this long drawn out process. You know, I was on a contract and all of these things. And I think that you built Lunatic the same way. I built Beauty Lab to be a business for women by women for people that wanted to have self-care without shame. That's all the time we have for this episode, but stay tuned for our next episode, which is going to be the second part of this discussion. And follow on Instagram, GoDaddy [music] News, for exclusive School of Hustle content. As someone who's personally made the beauty business my business, I'm always excited to talk to other entrepreneurs in the beauty space. Some people avoid connecting with business owners and it could be considered competition. But I truly believe there is space for all of us to succeed. And if we help each other, rising tides lift all boats. It is so worth it to find the time to have a mentor and to be a mentor. When you share your story, you're not only teaching, but you're also learning. To kick things off, Alex Rosen, the global economist at GoDaddy Small Business Research Lab. Alex is going to give us some recent findings about the beauty industry, an industry that I am so passionate about. >> Thanks, Angie. Beauty industry is very popular and there's so much room for entrepreneurs to succeed in it. In fact, it's the top ranking e-commerce category and it has been for years. Like every month topping the rankings of most activity, most entrepreneurs and that means that there might be a lot of competition. There's a lot of supply, but there's also a lot of demand. Peers, especially friends, are a top source of support for business owners and how they learn to grow, second only to their online searches, according to our research. And great news for GoDaddy School of Hustle. Almost a third of business owners turn to podcasts for advice. So, thanks Angie for hosting this one. >> Yeah, it's my pleasure. And it sounds to me like what you're saying is if you're in the beauty industry, you will always have work. [laughter] >> That's right. >> So, uh it's my pleasure to introduce you to GoDaddy customer and beauty veteran Naomi Lewis from Illuminati Labs. Naomi, can you tell us more about your business? Well, first of all, thank you so much, Alex and Angie, for having me today on your show. I'm so excited to be here. Illuminati Skincare Studio is a combination of two of my businesses that I've built. One I've had for 24 years. It's a hightouch luxury skin care studio. And the other of recent that I've owned for five years is an express facial studio that targeted just treatment or little 30 minute segments that you can just pop into in the middle of the day. And now I have brought them together under one business. So now we have best of both worlds. >> That's an awesome evolution. And you've been in the business quite some time. What's one piece of advice you would give aspiring business owners? >> What I would give for an aspiring business owner is first of all, get your name out there. I highly recommend starting out with a strong website presence. I love Arrow from GoDaddy. It was so easy for me to build. I also recommend that if you would like a mentor in the business. I personally didn't have one to start. So, I was uh just trial and error putting what worked and what didn't and fine-tuning that. A mentorship can come in all different avenues. It can come from brands. It can come from businesses. It can come from business owners. And so I recommend you know and listening to podcasts is perfect way to learn your craft. I would recommend somebody who does want to find a mentorship to show them that they are worth the investment. Initiate. Ask them if you can do a service on them so that you can get advice back from them. Show up. Listen, ask questions. I think all of those things are very important for both parties and it will fasttrack you. >> Thank you so much for sharing Naomi. It's about collaboration, not competition. When I first started my business with my husband 30 years ago, we shared ideas with other salon owners and we found mentors in the industry and we also mentored others in the industry. We shared ideas and we are focused on not only growing our business but everyone around us. I think it's really important to be reminded that it's not a competition and there is enough to go around for all of us. Thanks for sharing and also it was a pleasure to see you again, Alex. >> Thank you so much. >> Make sure to follow us on Instagram at GoDaddy News [music] and until then, keep hustling.